When I think back on the columns I’ve written about this Florida State baseball team throughout the year I cringe just a little bit.I’m a fan of the sport. It’s probably my favorite sport. And I know how it works, that seasons are long and slumps happen and sometimes teams look and play much different in June than they do in April.

And yet.

Every time the Seminoles lost a series this season, every time they suffered another narrow loss to a highly ranked team, in my mind it started to become a referendum not just on 2017 but on Florida State baseball in general.

Because I care about context and perspective, I always stopped short of sounding the alarm and screaming “the program is on fire!” As you guys hopefully know I try not to be that kind of columnist — the one that writes over-the-top opinions just to see how much attention I can get (my sense of humor and rugged good looks give me all the attention I need).

But I was pretty consistent, I think, in wondering what was wrong with this particular baseball team. And were the struggles of this year an ominous sign of things to come?

I’m sure I wasn’t alone either. Because none of us had ever seen this before. The last time Florida State was on the NCAA Tournament “bubble” nobody had ever heard that term before.

The last time the Seminoles missed the postseason was May of 1977.

The No. 1 song in America back then was ”Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder.

The No. 1 movie was some weird outer-space deal with wookies and whatnot that you probably don’t remember.

I was a toddler. Had a full head of hair. And my parents knew I was destined for greatness (turns out they missed the mark on that one a bit — but I feel like mediocrity should be celebrated, too, so I have no regrets).

Here’s the point: We all should have seen this coming. What Florida State has done the last three weeks shouldn’t have stunned us like it did. Because this is what Florida State has done for the last four decades.

Mike Martin has a program that wins 40 games a year. Every. Year.

Think about this stat: Florida State has won 40 games for 40 consecutive seasons. The next closest streak in the country? Six.

That’s just absurd. And you can roll your eyes about national championships and 0 for Omaha all you want. Fine. But at least appreciate that consistency because it is absolutely ridiculous. I can’t even think of another streak in college sports that is remotely close to this one.

Three weeks ago we thought the streak might be over. The Seminoles were sitting at 33-20. Unranked. And had a road trip to Louisville (for a series against the No. 2 Cardinals and then the ACC Tournament) ahead of them.

I honestly assumed they might come back to Tallahassee with 34 wins. Maybe 35. Then get sent out to an SEC school for a regional and get bounced on the opening weekend.

In fairness, I had seen this team play for much of the year, so it wasn’t like I was coming out left field with that opinion. But in hindsight I just shake my head.

How consistent does a program have to be to actually earn some benefit of the doubt? Stevie was still writing No. 1 hits the last time FSU didn’t win 40 games and yet I’m out here questioning if they’ll even make the postseason and wondering about “the decline” of the program.

I wasn’t alone either. Many of you — maybe most of you — felt the exact same way. And when the Seminoles then lost to Tennessee Tech in the first round last weekend, well, all the naysayers (this guy included) were happy to pick up the shovels and bury the 2017 Florida State baseball team yet again.

So we deserved what we got over the next three days: Tyler Holton’s masterpiece, Dylan Busby’s heroics, Will Zirzow’s out-of-body experience. All were reminders that we should’ve known better.

Florida State baseball is Florida State baseball. It’s going to win 40 games, it’s going to win a regional and it’s going to have a chance to play for a national championship.

Is this the year it finally happens? I mean, I’m not going to even get into that.

But I will offer this: When you’ve been doubted all season, when you have to win four straight in your own regional to advance, when you get down to your last strike, twice, when you get an all-time pitching performance from a guy on 26 days rest, and when you luck into getting to play a Super Regional at home — well, maybe as a team you start to think this was all supposed to happen.

That maybe there’s something special going on. Something magical.

That kind of belief can go a long way this time of year.

I’m certainly not predicting Florida State will just roll over Sam Houston State — that team was good enough to beat national seed Texas Tech twice in Lubbock. These Bearkats are legit.